More Audio Books!

Sorry I've been MIA for a while. Life has been aggravating this past week for reasons I won't particularize. But I do have some new audio book covers to show you. Here's the final version of the Recorded Books edition of Why Mermaids Sing:

This is actually the third version. I can show you the second version because for some reason it's up on Amazon. Needless to say, I did not like the red lipstick, and they surprised me by taking my suggestion they cut the mermaid off at the chin. Here's the original second version:

Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to show you the first version, which featured a different mermaid with a shell bra and a very prominent bellybutton. No, I'm not kidding.

Anyway, here is the cover for the upcoming Where Serpents Sleep:

I asked that they make the font of the title darker. Maybe I shouldn't have shown it yet? Oh well.

In other news, I've signed up for Bouchercon, the mystery/thriller convention that will be in New Orleans next September. If you like that sort of thing, maybe I'll see you there?

I am also chugging ahead with my plan to gradually release my Candice Proctor backlist as ebooks. I was going to release Midnight Confessions first and I have a gorgeous new cover for it, but, ahem, that has hit a snag (some of the "I won't particularize" stuff that's been affecting my blood pressure this week). But I will be going ahead with the release of Beyond Sunrise, although it will have only "Candice Proctor" on the cover rather than "C. S. Harris writing as Candice Proctor." (Yeah, you can read something between the lines there.)

And, finally, I have a new keyboard because this guy knocked a cup of coffee over on my old one and killed it. He's cranky because he's no longer allowed on my lap while I'm drinking anything at the computer and he's convinced I'm just being so mean. Which translates into, Let's bite Candy's foot. 

Hopefully next week will be better?

New Sebastian St. Cyr Audio Book: WHEN GODS DIE

Recorded Books has just released the audio version of the second book in the Sebastian St. Cyr series, WHEN GODS DIE. Once again the narrator is Davina Porter.

I know that Recorded Books has gone back and bought the rights to the earlier books they didn't produce, so they will all be available eventually. But I don't have a clue what their production schedule is. In fact, the first notice I get that one is in the works is when the cover shows up in my email inbox, usually just days before the release.

But I must say, I do like this cover.

Some News

The audio edition of WHAT ANGELS FEAR is now available. Davina Porter is once again the narrator. Recorded Books has purchased the audio rights to the entire series, so all the books they'd missed should come out over the next year or so. Their cover of Why Kings Confess has a Victorian gentleman lounging in a chair, so I'm very happy with this cover of Angels.

And my Aussie readers will be happy to know that WHAT ANGELS FEAR and WHEN GODS DIE will soon be available as ebooks in Australia (that's the old Australian trade paperback editions, above; I don't know if they'll use the same covers for the ebooks). I had no idea they weren't available until Alison Stuart happened to mention it on Facebook. So I did some investigating. You'd think the explanation would be simple; it wasn't. But the upshot is that the first two books in the series should be up sometime in January. That will still leave some books in the middle that aren't available in ebook form in Australia, but we're working on that. So, thank you, Alison!

Books!

Three boxes of books appeared outside my door this past week (one was filled with the paperback edition of What Darkness Brings), so we know they're off the presses and ready to be shipped!

I've been preoccupied this past month by the editorial revisions for Who Buries the Dead (editorial revisions are the result of suggestions by my editor). I don't know why this book has been giving me fits, but it's finally almost finished. I'm hoping I can get it off next week. To be frank, I am heartily sick of it at this stage. Plus I'm really excited to get to work on book #11, which will be a road trip as Sebastian goes to Ludlow, Shropshire, birthplace of Jamie Knox.

And I've had some nice news this past week: Recorded Books has bought the audio rights to the rest of the Sebastian St. Cyr series, up through book #12. So those of you who enjoy audio books will eventually be able to listen to them all. I haven't been told their production schedule, but I assume they'll be starting with #1 and moving forward from there. Number 9, Kings, is in production now and should be released soon.

Audio Version of WHAT DARKNESS BRINGS

Here's the cover for the audio version of What Darkness Brings; I always find it interesting to see the different decisions made by different art departments. Davina Porter is once again the narrator.

I understand Recorded Books has plans to go back and produce all of the earlier books in the series that have not yet been done as audio books, although they will be releasing them slowly.

Update: I just looked at the covers for the audio versions of Where Shadows Dance and When Maidens Mourn; notice an interesting progression?

Audio Book for WHEN MAIDENS MOURN

I've received the cover for the audio version of When Maidens Mourn. They weren't allowed to use the same image, so simply took the idea as an inspiration, which is nice since it gives a consistent look. The cover copy reads, "Tales of King Arthur and the Lady of Shalott provide inspiration for this latest gripping installment in the Sebastian St. Cyr mystery series, as the aristocratic sleuth and his fiercely independent bride, Hero Jarvis, investigate the murder of Gabrielle Tennyson at the site of a long vanished castle once known as Camelot."

Obviously audio books work to a much tighter production schedule than paper books. I've had the cover image and cover copy for the print version for months and months, but this was only finalized last week.

When Books Become CDs

My author's copies of the audio version of Where Shadows Dance finally arrived, and it was quite a strange experience sitting down and listening to my own book. Interestingly enough, I enjoyed the reader's rendition of the dialogue of the minor characters. But neither Gibson, Sebastian, nor Hero sounded the way I "hear" them, so it was disconcerting. I made it through most of the first CD, then dozed off. Always a danger at this point, since I can practically recite the book in my sleep.

But Steve, being a trooper (and having only read it once), listened to the entire thing. He said he enjoyed it, and that he thought the banter between Sebastian and Hero came off even better when it was spoken. Of course, Steve listens to two or three books a week, while I've probably listened to only half a dozen, period. And I've never listened to a book by an author I normally read, so I can only wonder at how different the experience is.

Thoughts, anyone?

The Sebastian Series Comes to Audio

I've never had any of my books released in an audio version, but that's about to change: coming in August, Recorded Books will be bringing out Where Shadows Dance in both cassettes and CDs. To say I am excited is an understatement.

I have to admit I'd always hoped that if an audio version were made of the series, the reader would be male. But I don't see how I can complain, given that Davina Porter has a stunning list of audio books to her name. She's perhaps best known as the reader for Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series and Marion Zimmer Bradley's Mists of Avalon series. But she's also read for Anne Perry, Ruth Rendell, and Alexander McCall Smith.

Personally, I don't usually listen to audio books. I tried several while I was driving back and forth to work on the house after Katrina, and I listened to quite a few when I went through several months of twice-daily, half-hour physical therapy for a messed up shoulder. But that's about it. My husband Steve, on the other hand, listens to them constantly and churns through several a week. He has several subscriptions and will sometimes buy a book he enjoys listening to (the most recent being Bill Bryson's At Home). He also frequently tries listening to new (to him) authors and, if he likes them, he'll then buy hard copies of their backlist to read. So I'm hoping coming out in audio will help the series reach a new audience.

Recorded books has also bought the audio rights to When Maidens Mourn, which should be out next year. Hopefully if there's enough interest in the series, they'll go back and pick up the earlier books.

The link to the book on their site is here, although there's not much to look at yet.

On Audio Books

I’ve been giving some more thought to the experience of listening to audio books vs. reading them. I have yet to enjoy a novel I’ve listened to, and I’m beginning to wonder if my reaction to those books was influenced by the fact I was listening to them rather than reading them.

One of the problems with listening to a book rather than reading it is that it seems to engage less of my brain. Thus, when a character does something unbelievable, or a plot hole yawns wide, or a writer seriously gets her facts wrong, I find my mind spinning off into prolonged analysis and contemplation of these failings even as I continue listening to the story. I suspect if I were reading the book, I would simply note the problem, then move on.

Another factor is one of speed. The book I’m listening to at the moment has massive tons of description. Now, I like description, so if I’m finding myself wishing I could skim, you know we’re talking serious overdoses of travelogue. This author also writes loooong scenes that do nothing to move the plot but are intended simply to show characterization (I personally think a scene should do both); if I could skim or skip them, I might find the book more enjoyable…although I would still have to put up with her Too Stupid to Live heroines and serious lack of understanding of how an archaeological dig works or what 800 years in the dirt would do to a brass and silver buckle.

I suppose the only way to test this theory would be to listen to a novel by an author I know and respect. Which is what I’ll probably do next.

In contrast, I find I enjoy listening to nonfiction. I suppose the experience is similar to listening to a good lecture. The problem there is that, as I drive down the street, I find myself wishing I could take notes! As a result, the two nonfiction books I’ve listened to most recently are now sitting on my bookshelves.